The present invention relates to the field of security systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to the surveillance and security system utilizing a video camera and a household video recorder for recording of the intruder objects unexpectedly appearing in the protected area.
Various surveillance and security systems are currently known in the art. Presently available systems typically include different types of motion detectors, i.e. sensors, which activate a connected camera, a video recorder and/or a plurality of alarms when an intruder object appears within the area of surveillance. The term xe2x80x9cintruder objectxe2x80x9d is used to include any human, animal, or material object entering the surveillance area.
The above described systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,651,143; 5,495,288; 5,602,585; 5,825,413; and 5,455,561. The ""585 patent discloses a specially developed camera with an active pixel imaging system, the imaging system being based on a complicated image analysis and processing. The ""561 patent provides a security system utilizing a similarly complicated processing of a video signal, i.e., comparison, differentiation, assignment of the levels of activation, etc., to exclude false alarms. Likewise, the ""413 patent also relates to the field of security and surveillance systems and it utilizes an infrared motion detector, a control unit and a video recording camera (camcorder). The ""413 patent claims a combination of the infrared motion detector and at least one infrared signal-reflecting surface to cover a maximum area in the controlled, i.e., protected, zone. The control unit, turning the camcorder xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d, has a sophisticated electronic circuitry generating a special code sequence. The ""288 patent discloses a method of supplying power to a detector/sensor, TV camera and a VCR. The ""143 patent utilizes a standard array of equipment (TV camera, sensor and VCR), which are installed in several positions within the controlled area. At the appearance of a trespasser, a sensor""s signal turns the VCR on and, simultaneously, the same signal is conveyed to a monitoring site where an observer is located. The observer receives the alarm and checks the video recording to identify the cause of the alarm.
The present invention provides a household security and surveillance system, which, in the preferred embodiment, couples solenoids, located within a controller, with a remote control. Additionally, the preferred embodiment of the present system utilizes an ordinary household VCR. The present invention allows for a simpler and less expensive provision of a security system, as well as it""s utilization in a typical household environment where the system can be used for surveillance inside the house as well as outside the house.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a household surveillance and security system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a household surveillance and security system utilizing a household video recorder. In one preferred embodiment the video recorder is a household VCR.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a household surveillance and security system which is cost effective and reliable.
Other objects, advantages and features of this invention will be more apparent hereinafter.
The above enumerated objects are accomplished by a surveillance system comprising a triggering device, connected to a controller, which, through a remote control, conveys activation and/or deactivation signals to a video recorder. In the preferred embodiment, the video recorder is a household VCR. This activation/deactivation scheme is enabled by coupling solenoids, located within the controller adapted to activate the xe2x80x9cstartxe2x80x9d and/or xe2x80x9cstopxe2x80x9d buttons of the remote control. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the video recorder is connected to a video camera, providing surveillance of the protected area.